Trip Report April 2023 Maui Trip Report

[azstinger11]

Trip Dates: 15-22 April 2023

TLDR: A great spot for beginner CCR divers to rack up hours. Highly recommend Extended Horizons for your dive charter on island.

Trip Background: This was a combined family trip with my parents and also some scuba diving for the wife and I. We are also working on gaining hours on our rEvo rebreathers for an upcoming course. So we decided to try and gain some of those hours in the warmer Hawaiian waters.


Travel: We flew on southwest with an overnight in Phoenix to meetup with the family for the combined trip direct into Maui. We ended up with 5 checked bags (two pelican cases, 1 clothes bag each, and 1 combined scuba gear bag) plus the carry-ons. If it was just the wife and I think we could have done 4 bags, but we brought nicer clothes and some other things instead of just swim suits and t-shirts like if it was just us on a diving trip. Southwest made this possible and didn’t blink an eye, overall no problems at all and had a great flying experience both ways. It did make us appreciate the 75lb bag weight limit when we fly out of Tijuana though.


Lodging: We stayed at the Hyatt Residency Club on Ka’anapali. The resort was simply excellent. The 2 bedroom unit we had was an excellent setup. The main/master bedroom had access to the very large patio area and a very nice bath. The backroom (ours) didn’t have a view but did have a private bathroom and laundry area. The main area had a full kitchen, dining table, and seating area. The balcony was very large with multiple seating areas and expansive views of Lanai and Lahaina. Despite being on end of the season we could still spot whales frequently from the balcony. The resort had a nice pool area, pool bar, and some quicker eats. It’s location on the Ka’anapali beachwalk meant it was a short walk to restaurants at other resorts or in Whaler’s village. We didn’t go but it would also be a short walk to black rock for snorkeling. The drive to Mana wharf and Lahaina was short and easy. So overall an excellent location for divers and families. Parking was only via valet if that matters to anyone.


Rebreather logistics and issues: We ended up getting in touch with Silent O Solutions on Maui, as they are the only place in fact to get Oxygen fills, sorb, and bottle rentals. Overall it was a good experience. We bought a keg of sorb and were able to sell back by weight the unused sorb (as rEvo divers, the sellback weight was a considerable amount). The owner/operator was traveling during our stay so we coordinated for an initial rental of 8 3L bottles (2 sets each), the sorb keg, and 2 bailout bottles, and we planned on swapping them during our non diving day, which was also his return day. Unfortunately, his flights got delayed heavily and we weren’t able to make that happen. We were able to work around this, and that was obviously totally out of his control. Our preference would have been for a little more communication, but overall it worked out ok.

One thing we hadn’t encountered that was unique to us, was that the majority of charters would not take rebreather divers on board. We were clear we would be sticking to recreational depth limits, staying out of deco, and would honor any time restrictions. We were repeatedly told that nope, we don’t take rebreather divers anymore.

 

[azstinger11]

Part 2...

Boat Diving: We ended up using Extended Horizons out of Lahaina. To be entirely honest, we went with them as they were the only operation we could find that would take us. The experience would turn out to be one of our favorite dive operations ultimately. Booking was easy on their website after we called and confirmed we would be welcome. A few days prior they contacted us asking for photos of our rebreathers so they could plan how to best accommodate us. The boat is trailered in/out every day so you meet at Mala wharf, and load gear, pay, and get most of the generic briefings out of the way. The boat is a single hull 12 pack. They have kept their COVID reduced load of 8 divers in place, and at least when we talked to them have no plans of upping it. This means everyone (except rebreather divers lol) have a nice bench to sit on under the shade. Due to how our rebreathers fit best on the boat we usually sat on a padded cooler a little behind the normal benches (if you did doubles I would expect the same seats). The boat did have a marine head despite the small size. Storage is a bit limited, you have the under seat storage, very limited storage by the captain, then some nets above you. Its more than adequate but traveling light is advised if possible. Dives are guided and had a maximum bottom time of 70 minutes! Dives are usually very slow and casual as the guides hunt out things to show and then you end up back near the line for your ascent. While all divers are escorted back to the line, the dive isn’t over when the first diver hits their ascent pressure/NDL. Water bottles are provided along with some light snacks. Snacks were bagels with peanut butter/cream cheese (they were very good about asking about peanut allergies), fruit slices, and then cookies.


I really want to focus on the crew for a moment. As nothing in the above is really that exceptional. Victoria was the main captain (and our dive guide once), the other dive guides were Pauline, Gabi, & Rachel (apologies in advance for any misspellings!). The crew had an extensive knowledge of the local area and wildlife. Pauline was instrumental in the discovery of many nudibranch species, and I believe had 1 or 2 directly named after her. They also were great at indicating things that were rare for them to see as well. Once back on the boat they would break out laminated fish ID books and reference materials and review everything that was encountered on the dive. Pointing out the identifying aspects. This in conjunction with the dive pre-briefs really made the trip an outstanding experience.

All of our trips were to Lanai which was a relatively smooth crossing. The fact that for the week we were there all the trips were to Lanai was perhaps the only thing we wish would have been different. A backside of Molokini or similar would have been nice (they do have these trips, just every day of our trip was Lanai). We ended up diving Wash Rock, 1st Cathedral, Fish Rock, Shark Fin, and Lighthouse. All were excellent but fish rock had a great ending when a pod of dolphins swimming by on our safety stop. We always got out 70 minutes in, and depths were usually around 60ft, and most divers got the full or vast majority of that time on their open circuit tanks as well.


Shore Diving: We rented a mandatory dive flag tow from Extended Horizons and did two shores on Mala wharf after the boat charters. Yes an hour dive at 20 feet on CCR is peak overkill but whatever. We entered on the beach side which was sand beach then a mild walk out over some rocks tell you get in waist deep water and kick out (oh watch out for turtles in the surf!). Once you get to 8 feet of water or so you simply drop down and follow the rubble. Navigation is stupid simple, stay near the rubble. We were saw tons of green sea turtles, a group of 4 nurse sharks, and your standard reef fish. The first day we did the dive the current was a bit strong (particularly on a rebreather, it was probably noticeably less open circuit), the 2nd day was the day following a pretty good storm so the run off had dropped the visibility probably by half (also known as double the standard California visibility lol). This is a really excellent shore dive, and I would say it’s a don’t miss spot if you are staying in Lahaina or Ka’anapali.

 

[azstinger11]

Part 3

Non diving touristy things: As mentioned this was a family trip so outside of diving, a lot of things were setup by the family. Seeing as how much of a family destination Maui is, I’m including them in this report as well since frequently family and dive trips need to share the same vacation days.

We did a self driving tour of West Maui and South Maui. The author of Maui Revealed has a very neat iOS application that is him narrating along as you drive around. It was a really excellent way to tour around. The only thing that is hard is you can’t navigate to a destination with google maps and do that guide very well, so you sort of have to just listen to the verbal navigation instructions for general advise then switch when you are close. But its great, we have an upcoming trip to Oahu and will be doing this there as well! If you do West Maui, bring some snacks and drinks, it’s a multiple hour trip and there isn’t really anything out there. We had hoped to stop for some Banana Bread (apparently the island’s best) for lunch, but they were closed Sunday. But it’s just stunning. We did the same tour/navigation to explore south Maui and again really enjoyed his commentary and advice on where to stop for things.

We did a sunset drinking cruise and booked the Gemini boat. It offered plenty of shade for those that wanted it, lots of outdoor seating, good variety of drinks, and some excellent appetizers. While we didn’t pay for a whale watching cruise, we did end up seeing multiple breeches. If you use them you will be asked to sit in the interior initially while they back off the beach. Once off the beach and after a short brief from the staff you are free to move out to the exterior, I would recommend sitting near the stairs so you can secure your choice of outside seating.

We did the road to Hana as well. This was our non-diving day and ultimately turned out to be a very rainy and stormy day. We used Hawaiian Style tours for this and the driver really made the best out of it. We had to skip a few sections as things were flooded or unsafe due to the weather but it was still a great day trip, and the perfect way to spend what otherwise was a very very rainy day.

We also did the Warren and Annabelle’s magic show in Lahaina. The performers were excellent, very funny, great tricks, and very entertaining. You will be asked to show up early for drinks/appetizers (or to upgrade to their meal combo). Skip that, eat out in advance then show up for a pre-show drink. The appetizers were pretty meh, not bad by any definition, but I’d skip them going forward. They do have discounts for active duty US military as well, if that’s applicable. They don’t swear but there are adult jokes but would say it’s generally family friendly.

 

[txdamselfish]

Thank you, @azstinger11 for the comprehensive review, I have been reading all the older Hawaii posts to get more details for planning a trip in 2025, the Hyatt Residency Club on Ka’anapali sounds perfect, the services of a hotel, but your own kitchen is a plus. Extended Horizons service and ease of booking online makes them a great choice for a LDS when we visit Maui. Nice find with the Maui Revealed app too.

Glad you and the fam had a great time. Got any pics or videos of the dolphin pod?

 

[azstinger11]

Thank you, @azstinger11 for the comprehensive review, I have been reading all the older Hawaii posts to get more details for planning a trip in 2025, the Hyatt Residency Club on Ka’anapali sounds perfect, the services of a hotel, but your own kitchen is a plus. Extended Horizons service and ease of booking online makes them a great choice for a LDS when we visit Maui. Nice find with the Maui Revealed app too.

Glad you and the fam had a great time. Got any pics or videos of the dolphin pod?

Sadly no, we are still in the relatively early days of our rebreathers, so we are keeping the cameras at home so we don’t over task load during the dives.

I want to say it was the Honua Kai (by duke’s) that also had private gas grills in their balconies. Our resort had a reservation system for some community ones.